South L.A. Leads Jump in Homicides

Confirming an alarming trend, Los Angeles Police Department officials reported Tuesday that South Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley saw the biggest jumps in homicide rates citywide in the first four months of 2002.

The four divisions in the LAPD’s South Bureau reported 102 slayings between Jan. 1 and May 4, a 64.5% jump over the same period last year, acting Chief Michael Bostic told the Los Angeles Police Commission.

The five Valley divisions reported 46 homicides, a 58.6% increase compared with that period last year.

Citywide, 231 homicides were reported in the first four months of this year, compared with 166 the year before, a 39% increase, according to Bostic.

Police officials attribute the jump to an increase in gang activity and deep cuts in funding for anti-gang units.

Los Angeles homicides were at a 30-year low in 1999, with 425. Since then, they have increased, with 584 recorded last year.